Guerneville Getaway

This weekend, we went on a 24-hour getaway. This little escape was perfect for a few reasons.

1. I planned the whole thing, not telling Will a single detail (except for how long we were going and what to pack).
2. We were sort of wiped out from two weeks of construction at our place, and early-morning chainsaws next door.
3. Our landlord was arriving at 9am on Saturday to finish the construction/remodel job, and would be working in the house all day.
4. The holidays are fast-approaching, and while that's super exciting, it's also a little intimidating. We are basically busy every single weekend (and most weeknights) from now until New Years, and yay holidays but omg busy. 

A little romantic escape was certainly in the cards: some one-on-one time, some gotta-get-outta-town time, some plan-something-awesome-for-your-husband-and-surprise-him time. I love that.

Thanks to a Living Social voucher, I scored a great deal at Boon Hotel + Spa (there are still two days left! you can get it too!), that included wine and massages. We drove to Guerneville on Friday evening, through heavy traffic and pouring rain, arriving just in time for dinner at the restaurant Boon owns in town. We came back to our room (a Queen Suite, with a cute patio/yard that would be great in the summertime), lit a fire in the fireplace, and read, cozied up on the couch. Oh, and then we ate chocolate lava cake in our robes. Deluxe.

Saturday morning, we woke up as breakfast was delivered to our room, enjoyed our French press coffee with biscuits and yogurt and juice, and borrowed the hotel's cruiser bikes for a quick ride downtown. We picked up delicious sandwiches and beer from Big Bottom Market, and biked on over to Armstrong Woods State Natural Reserve, about 2.5 miles away. It's magical to me that it only took, like, 10-15 minutes. Bicycling, man. It's da bomb.

Side Note: I am not a bike rider. I learned to ride as a kid, but didn't ride regularly (it's not really the thing to do in the San Fernando Valley), and would not consider myself someone who is comfortable on two wheels. Two years ago, I learned to ride as an adult, but haven't ridden since. And this weekend, I hopped on that bike and rode downtown and uphill and I was damn proud of myself. 

At Armstrong Woods, we took the Pool Ridge Trail, a 400 ft elevation gain over a couple miles, up through the redwoods and lush, lush green loveliness. The rain started up again as we began our descent from the saddle, and though we were pretty well-covered by the trees for most of the time, the mist was pretty refreshing.

One of the only pictures we took this weekend, because I
kept my phone off/away, and Will's camera died.
Impromptu technology-free 24 hours!

Managed to get an awkward self-portrait in as well.
Gotta love Will's hiking glasses.

The rain was coming down pretty hard by the time we reached the picnic area (about .5 miles away from the parking lot), so we ducked under some trees for our sandwiches and beer before heading the rest of the way down the (easy, pine-needle-covered, full-of-awesome-trees) trail.

After a breezy 2 mile bike ride back to the hotel in the pouring rain, we were soaked. I mean, soaked. Really, really soaked. It was kind of fun (and a bit exhilarating) to ride downhill in the pouring rain! A challenge for bike-newbie-Kim, and a fun time for Will (who always likes when I try new adventures, and who is himself an avid hiker/biker). 

Back at the hotel, we killed time in the hot tub (hot tub in the rain!) while waiting for our massage appointments, and used a complimentary hotel room to change and shower (thank you, Tom at Boon, for letting us use this bonus room! It was a much better option than hanging out, soaking wet, in the car!). Seriously, this small hotel was just full of awesome. After our massages, we headed back downtown (in the car, this time) for a great little dinner at Chef Patrick's before heading back home.

We stopped at Whole Foods to satisfy my pumpkin pie craving (did you know they sell half pies? genius), and shared it with our friend Carlos as we watched the end of the first half of the awful Cal/Oregon game before going home for real.

The drive home. It was seriously raining!

The best thing was that when we got home on Saturday night, it was only Saturday night! We still had a whole Sunday to go! The weekend felt much longer, and I am now all about the 24 hour getaway, you guys. Such a good idea.

Are you getting amped up about the holidays? Taking any time for yourself before the madness begins?